I'm Learning How to Make "Poor Man's" Capers; Join Me! (Part One)

Less than a year ago, I'd never heard of nasturtium. I'd seen it. Chances are even if you've never heard of it, you've seen it, too.

Nasturtium is a versatile, hearty, and completely edible genus of plant that also happens to be wildly popular as landscaping. You'll see it covering the grounds of office buildings or vining around trellises. It's distinctly shaped leaves and pleasingly bright flowers are quite inviting.

So when my husband and I discovered some in our community garden plot, we were delighted. But then something happened to change our minds. The nasturtium quickly began taking over the world. Did I mention that this stuff is hearty? It grows like a weed and it's virtually impossible to destroy. But as the bosses of our garden, that's exactly what we intended to do. Kill it! Kill it with fire! Okay, maybe not fire. Hoes and shovels.

Thankfully another gardener intervened. That's how we learned that this stuff is edible. So we began harvesting it. The leaves make lovely salad greens and the flowers are unique and peppery.

But still we've had to constantly prune this stuff. If we didn't, we'd become fulltime nasturtium farmers. As we've snipped and trimmed, we've also noticed these funky little buds growing beneath the cover layer of the plant. We were unsure if they were unopened flowers or seeds. And we never thought of eating them. That is until the other day when my best friend commented on the above photo. "You know you can pickle the seeds and make capers, right?"

Why no...no I did not. Challenge accepted!

Today I gathered up some seeds to attempt this magnificent feat of alchemy. As you can see, the seeds or pods grow in tiny clusters. I brought them home and washed them, cleaning off dirt, debris, and lingering flower matter. I also removed the stems and broke the clusters into individual seeds, setting them free.

Once cleaned, I set them aside to dry while I prepped a jar. At this point I don't really need a perfectly sterile vessel, so I thoroughly washed out an old salsa jar. I recycle so I can go to heaven.

Next I prepared a luxurious mineral bath for my future capers (read: simple salt brine). Because this isn't the final pickling, the ratio is flexible. But I used:

• 2-3 tablespoons of fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup fresh water

I mixed until the salt completely dissolved. You can stir it. But I like drama so I sealed the jar and shook it like a maniac.

Once prepared, I added the roughly 1/4 cup of seeds to the brine, where they will lazily soak for the next several days. I then covered the jar with a plastic produce bag, pushing it down until the plastic was just at the waterline inside of the jar to keep the seeds submerged. (I assume this is to teach them a lesson.) And finally, I loosely secured a rubber band around the rim to keep potential predators out...and to make sure the alien-looking pods cannot escape while I'm not looking.

This first step in the process is optional. I read that the seeds have strong, bitter mustard oils and a good brine soaking serves to extract some of that oil and mellow the flavor.

So there you have it! My great caper caper has begun. I'll meet you back here in a few days and we will proceed to the next step.

Helpful tip: If you're playing along at home, you will need some sugar, some vinegar, and some bay leaves.

See you soon!